Anatomy of a Clusterf*ck (FE4 vs FE13)

So, I made some new pals over on GameFaqs after some of us hijacked a troll thread on the FE13 forum and turned in into a debate over whether Sigurd, Eltoshan, or Cuan was the biggest dumbass in Jugdral.  (Hint: Sigurd.)  And one of these new pals compared the plot of FE4 to FE13 in that both start off very strong and turn into a "clusterfuck" (though s/he also took points off FE13 for blatantly riffing off FE4).

 

I think "clusterfuck" is a strong term for Gen 2.  It's dramatically flawed to the point where it both challenges adaptation and undercuts its own "aria" moments in the script, to be sure.  I've pondered before what precisely is so bad about it, and I had a handful of answers.

 

( Spoilers and opinions )

PS: Chrom's ultimately a bigger dumbass than Sigurd, too.